Sunday, December 27, 2015

New Year, New Page - Well, Post Anyway

Before we begin, some notes:

I'm now spending most of my writing time at the Parenting section of PJMedia. If you're into controversial transgressive commentary on pop culture feminism, check out the Lifestyle page. Into thoughtful critique on Rabbinic Judaism and the relationship between Judaism and Christianity? Check out the Faith section. Just want to read it all? Hit up my author page.

Like wine? Check out my alter-ego blog: WineGirl Blog. Friend me on Facebook at WineGirl and follow me on Twitter @WineGirlBlog. I dig local wineries from the NJ/PA/NY/FLX regions and tend to post reviews of wines and wineries we've visited, along with re-posting a ton of info on news and events in those regions. Surprisingly enough I'm still getting tons of friend requests and followers despite not having drank in the past year thanks to the arrival of my first child. Wine truly does make good friends of us all.

I'd love to expand into new arenas, but right now my main focus is parenting my new son, Superman. You'll never see a picture of him, so thanks for your interest, but no. His Internet persona will be his to craft in his own time. For now he can happily wear the lenses of a non-virtual Clark Kent and enjoy his hidden identity as all babies should.

For the past few years I've blogged a lot about politics. This has only reinforced my already firm stance against ever joining a political party of any stripe. It's just not my style to be a joiner. I've never been the type who's been able to change the system from within. Instead, I've always been the court jester, if you will, or The Dude who abides in the chaos. Transitioning from political writer to motherhood has also reminded me of what a small bubble politics is in this huge world. All-consuming to those who consume it for a living, politics is merely another sphere of human communication. We are ignorant of its power because we are ignorant of the power we wield over one another. Only God Himself can make this truth clear to us. Hence I will forever stand on the bedrock of Biblical faith as my source and the lens through which I view the world.

Speaking of which, no one reads the Bible. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of religious folks who read about the Bible, but very few actually read the Bible with an open heart that seeks to hear God's voice instead of the comforting tones of familiar voices. I get it. Everyone needs a teacher, several actually. The problem is that most teachers become gurus whose own opinions overshadow what's already been written. Over the past year I've managed to piss off a lot of folks with these observations, especially fellow Jews who resort to calling me a "bad Jew" in so many words for questioning the tenets of Rabbinic culture. To them, the most I can say is, "Well, that's your opinion man." God's the judge and, as Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic, what other people think of me is none of my business.

I struggle not to get un-Dude about these things, which means walking away from the conversation lest I enter a world of pain. This is my embrace of Dudeism, the pursuit of which inspired me to become an ordained Dudeist Priest (or Rabbi, if you will). Pursuing Dudeism balances out the very Walter pursuit of Biblical Judaism and corresponding conservative political values that can often leave one feeling very un-Dude, although say what you will, at least they comprise an ethos. Balance is inherently Biblical. There is a Walter/Dude in everything, a Lennon and McCartney if you will. One without the other and you will either be too serious or too light a person.

To that end, I've decided to balance my pursuit of parenting with a healthy dose of joy. My goals for this upcoming year include a pursuit of Shakespeare, the reading of Sherlock Holmes, a Beatles refresher and the celebration of the upcoming release of the AbFab movie. I might even get a bit of wine in here or there.